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Thursday, April 29, 2010

Latinos in Social Media Announces Board of Directors

Today, LATISM had its official coming out announcement. Through the following press release, the LATISM board announced to the world who we are and what we are up to. Enjoy!

(The following announcement is cross-posted from Latism.org) As Latinos come together online, they are turning to the first and largest organization of its kind in the US: Latinos in Social Media (Latism). Today, LATISM has announced its newly constituted Board of Directors.

NEW YORK, NY- USA – April 29, 2010 – With the online Latino population set to reach critical mass, a group of influential Latinos decided to create an organization for and by Latinos to share, network and promote themselves and their businesses within the social media space: Latinos in Social Media (LATISM), the largest organization of Social Media professionals of Latino origin. Today, LATISM has announced its newly constituted Board of Directors.

Among the members of the board are respected business executives, marketing and PR professionals, entrepreneurs and small business owners. The new board members already specified by LATISM bylaws include business woman and social entrepreneur Ana Roca Castro; social media consultant Louis Pagan; business executives Sylvia Aguilera andGiovanni Rodriguez; entrepreneur Kety Esquivel and marketing executive Elianne Ramos.

“It is an honor to serve as Chair on the Board of Directors,” Roca-Castro said. “Our board is an accomplished group in the personal, professional and social media arenas. These are all strong, independent-minded individuals who see the big picture and will bring their high standards of excellence to their work with LATISM, to the benefit of all professional Latinos. With their collective capacity to put the best interests of Latinos first, we have a bright future.”

The six current seats named will serve in the areas of Fundraising/Development, Membership, Events, PR/Marketing, Technology and Strategic Partnerships. All individual board members were selected by LATISM for their individual contributions to the organization’s initiatives nationwide.

Together, Board members will help LATISM to provide a common platform of support and networking; to promote and grow members’ businesses, to help social media professional members acquire better positions and improve their businesses by finding and channeling business opportunities, funding, networking and speaking opportunities.

According to recent studies, there were nearly 23 million Hispanics online in 2009 -12.3% of the US Internet population –a number that is expected to increase to 13.9% by 2013 (Source: e-marketer.com). All members of the board are considered “influentials” within this demographic, and they represent the diversity of the Latino ethnic spectrum. All five board members are Hispanic-Americans from a diverse list of Latin American countries and four of the board members are women.

Additional information about LATISM can be found at http://LATISM.org.

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Latinos in Social Media (LATISM) is the first and largest organization to engage, organize, train and promote professionals of Latino origin in the social media arena. We aim to become the bridge between Latino professionals and the companies/organizations who target a Hispanic/multicultural audience by providing a platform where they can share knowledge, experiences and opportunities for the advancement of all Latinos. We are non-denominational and non-partisan. For more information, visit http://LATISM.org.

LATISM Board of Directors – Biographies

Ana Castro-Roca: (@anarc)

Ana is LATISM’s Chair, the Chief Executive Officer of Premier Social Media and LATISM’s Founder. Ana uses her 14 years of project management experience to help businesses and organizations achieve their objectives via state-of-the-art social media development. She started Premier Social Media in 2007 with the development of a safe Social Networking site for diplomats and ambassadors. In the last two years, she has developed 2 internal Social Networks, over 20 Facebook/My Space applications, 12 iPhone apps and more than a dozen 3D Buildings at Google Earth. Her clients include Toshiba, Walmart, FedEx, the World Bank, Tipping Point Media and THER-RX corp. As a Social Media developer, she partners with businesses, non-for-profit organizations and PR/Marketing companies to serve their needs within the Social Media realm.

Louis Pagan:(@louispagan)

Louisis LATISM’s Vice Chair and Vice-chair of Technology for LATISM. A prominent leader in Hispanic social media, Louis was a pioneer in the Latino blogosphere for a number of years, and continues to publish content through various forms of media. As co-founder of Latinos in Social Media (LATISM), he identified a market niche and helped organized a nationwide movement, which culminated with the first Latinos in Social Media conference tour. His work has been recognized and awarded several times for his leadership and vision by several national organizations.

Giovanni Rodriguez: (@giorodriguez)

Giovanni Rodriguez is LATISM’s Vice-chair of Programs and Events. A noted consultant, author, and speaker on the impact of social technology on the new and emerging workplace, Giovanni is co-founder of The Conversation Group, one of the first global consultancies to focus on social technology and business innovation. He has consulted for numerous companies, including The New York Stock Exchange, SAP, Alcatel-Lucent, Verizon Business, General Mills, Unilever, Best Buy, and the Automobile Association of America (AAA). He is also known for his work in helping to position technology companies in transition, including FAST Search and Transfer (now Microsoft), Ribbit (now British Telecom), JAJAH (now Telefonica), and VMware, where he served as the company’s first director of market relations. A graduate of Princeton University, he is a founding fellow at the Society of New Communications Research.

Kety Esquivel: (@ketye)

Kety is the interim ED for LATISM and Vice-chair of Membership. Her work has taken her to China and Ethiopia with UNECA. She has coached executives on human capital in the US, Canada and Latin America. She directed Latino outreach for the Clark Presidential Campaign. She worked as the New Media Manager for NCLR. She graduated from Cornell University and served on the Board of Trustees. Kety is a published author and founder of CrossLeft.org. She is co-founder of the IPC and promigrant.org. She has been a speaker at NN, SXSW, PDF, BlogHer and worked with O’Reilly Media, Blogalicious, WAM, Web of Change and She’s Geeky. Her commentary has been featured in the Wall St. Journal, HITN, PBS, XM radio, CNN, Televisa and Univision.

Sylvia Aguilera: (@httponline)

Sylvia is LATISM’s Vice-chair of Fundraising and Development. Recently, Sylvia joined McDonald’s Corporation as Director of Federal Government Relations in Washington, DC. She was previously Executive Director of the Hispanic Technology and Telecommunications Partnership, HTTP. Having worked in public policy and communications for over 12 years, she has held executive level positions at Comunicad; the National Hispanic Corporate Council; the National Community Reinvestment Coalition; and the National Puerto Rican Coalition. Sylvia is an Internet Innovation Alliance Ambassador and serves on the Board of the National Capital Chapter of the Public Relations Society of America (PRSA). She is currently working towards earning her APR certification, a mark of distinction for professionals in the field of Public Relations. Sylvia earned her Masters degree in Public Policy from the University of Chicago as a Woodrow Wilson Fellow and received her Bachelors degree in International Relations from American University.

Elianne Ramos: (@ergeekgoddess)

Elianne is the CEO of Speak Hispanic Communications, the VP of Marketing and Product Development for American Latino Media and Vice-chair of Communications and Marketing for LATISM. Formerly, she was the VP, Creative Director and founder of i3 Creative Group, managing production teams working concurrently in the United States, Mexico, Uruguay and Argentina. In over 14 years of Creative Direction, Copywriting, Public Speaking, Public Relations and TV Commercial Production experience, Elianne has led creative workshops and lectures at marketing conferences and universities in both the United States and South America. She has developed broadcast, multimedia and social media campaigns for clients such as Procter & Gamble, Panasonic, SlimFast, Chivas Regal, HSBC Bank and AARP. Her writing has appeared in numerous books and publications. She is a Latino Outreach Board member at The Walters Museum.

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Kety Esquivel

Welcome!

Kety Esquivel has over fifteen years of experience in the non‐profit, private and political sectors. She directed Latino outreach for the Clark Presidential Campaign. Her work has taken her to China and Ethiopia with the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa. She spent three years coaching executives on human capital and diversity in the US, Canada and Latin America. She worked as the New Media Manager for NCLR (the National Council of La Raza). Kety graduated from Cornell University where she served on the Board of Trustees. While at Cornell she organized students to defend issues as varied as financial aid and need-blind admissions to the environment. She is a published author and founder of CrossLeft.org. She is co-founder of the Institute of Progressive Christianity and the Sanctuary,http://promigrant.org. Kety has served on several boards, including that of the Backbone Campaign, the Puerto Rican Youth Development and Resource Center and the New Leaders Council. She has been a speaker at Netroots Nation, SXSW, Personal Democracy Forum, BlogHer, the Center for New Words, Gov 2.5 and Gov 2.0 Camp LA. She has worked with O'Reilly Media, Blogalicious, Women Action and the Media and Nonprofit 2.0 Unconference. She has been a convener for Web of Change and She's Geeky and is a past editor of BlogHer. Her commentary has been featured and quoted in stories for the Wall St. Journal Online, HITN, PBS, XM radio, Democracy Now, CNN, Televisa and Univision. She blogs here and on the Huffington Post.